refore, been in
the habit of following all native customs which were not a
contravention of Chinese statute law [but it seems _this sort_ of
buying and selling of human beings is contrary to Chinese law.
This is a misrepresentation]. It is said that the whole increase
and prosperity of the Colony from its first foundation to the
present day is all based on the strength of that invitation which
Sir Charles Elliott gave to intending settlers, and that this
present intention of applying, all of a sudden, the repressive
force of the law to both the practice of buying or selling boys or
girls for purposes of adoption or for domestic servitude is not
only a violation of the rule of Sir Charles Elliott, but moreover
will, it is to be feared, not fail to trouble the people."

They speak of infanticide as an evil that

"must be classed with evils almost unavoidable. Now if the buying
of adoptive children and of servant girls is to be uniformly
abolished, it is to be feared that henceforth the practice of
infanticide will extremely increase beyond what it ever was. The
heinousness of the violation of the great Creator's benevolence,
which constitutes infanticide, is beyond comparison with the
indulgence granted to the system of buying and selling children to
prolong their existence."

As though these benevolent persons only bought slaves for this one
laudable purpose, to preserve their lives! "As regards the buyers,
they look upon themselves as affording relief to distressed people,
and consider the matter as an act akin to charity," etc.

A flood of light is let in upon the matter of the reluctance of
British officials to move in the putting down of domestic slavery and
the buying and selling of boys among the natives, in the following
well-deserved thrust at the weak point in the armor of the British
officials:

"The office of the Registrar-General was charged with the
superintendence of prostitutes and the licensing of brothels
and similar affairs. But _from 80 to 90 per cent of all these
prostitutes in Hong Kong were brought into these brothels by
purchase, as is well known to everybody_. If buying and selling is
a matter of a criminal character, the proper thing would be, first
of all, to abolish this evil (brothel slavery). But how comes
it that since the first establishment of the Colony down to the
pr